Project INISS investigated the information needs of social services staff in the United Kingdom. This paper describes the origins of the project, the methodology employed in the first phase, some findings, and implications for information services in social services. (Author/KP)

Discusses current status of professional efforts, preparedness, and use of recent findings from research to suggest management strategies and tactics for provision of information services in social sciences. Awareness of problem, characteristics of users and information needs, design aspects, models for development, and management aspects are…

Describes the development of a method for the evaluation and comparison of interactive information retrieval systems, which are based on the concept of a simulated work-task situation and the involvement of real end users. Highlights include real and simulated information needs; relevance assessments; and the dynamic nature of information needs.…

Discusses systems used to provide access to scientific and technical information in less developed countries (LDC), noting advanced country-based information and documentation systems, implications for LDC response, and conclusions concerning effective strategies. Thirty-eight references are cited. (EJS)

Discusses background and theory underlying a design study for an interactive information retrieval system funded by the British Library Research and Development Department which will determine structural representations of anomalous states of knowledge (ASKs) underlying information needs. References are cited. (EJS)

This study indicates that, in the case of scholarly journals, the author's desire to publish predominates over the reader's desire to know. Analysis of new publications over the past 10 years in the United Kingdom reveals they are generally initiated by a scientific author's perception of inadequate publishing outlets. (RAA)

World Information Synthesis and Encyclopaedia (WISE), is a modernized version of H. G. Wells' World Brain'' concept. The desirability and feasibility of WISE are argued. World mental health through world mental wealth is far too important an idea to be left dormant, undiscussed and unexplored. (48 references) (Author/NH)

Describes the results of an exploratory survey by questionnaire distributed through a variety of information agencies, designed to investigate United Kingdom women's information needs and patterns of information-seeking behavior in relation to the European Union. Results explore women's attitudes to information and its value in a variety of life…

Presents a theoretical model of documentation which strives to include all potential users and their varying information needs, including nonreaders, through an analysis of the system of documentation. (JVP)

Discusses the evaluation of interactive information retrieval (IIR) systems and explains two main approaches, system-driven and user-centered. Describes Text Retrieval Conference (TREC), and concludes that the simulated work task situation as an experimental sub-component could be recommended for future evaluation of IIR systems based on empirical…

Discusses the basic elements of a global cognitive theory for information retrieval (IR) interaction from a cognitive point of view. Within this framework are outlined the principles underlying the concept of polyrepresentation applied simultaneously to the user's cognitive space and the information space of IR systems. Contains 95 references.…

Reports on a theoretical model of structured document indexing and retrieval based on the Dempster-Shafer Theory of Evidence. Highlights include passage retrieval, hypertext, relevance, information needs, implementation of the model, an evaluation scheme designed to test the model's effectiveness, and results of experiments that investigated…

Describes the development and evaluation of a new classification system for fiction which is based on an analysis of users' formulations of needs. Problems of concept identification (author's intention, citation order, vocabulary control, and choice of access terms) are highlighted. Examples of questions used in retrieval tests and 20 references…

Examines the concepts involved in user studies, information needs, and information seeking behavior to propose a basis and direction for future research in information science. Twenty-eight references are listed. (RAA)

Information needs are defined in relation to conceptual incongruities and the satisfaction of such needs is discussed in terms of access to varying ranges of information sources, from individual learning resources to large-scale databases. (Author/SW)